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Kerang is the traditional cloth of Gadaba adivasis which has almost languished; it is woven and worn by Gadaba women.

Symbolism and Significance

The vibrant red and blue stripes of Kerang cloth symbolises the impression of tiger skin and relation of Gadabas with nature.

Raw material

The fibre used in kerang is removed from the bark of the local plant by beating with a wood and later boiled in water and dried in sunlight to soften the texture.

Weaving process

The fibres are hand-spun on thighs using a spindle like tool called ginara and twisted slowly with the help of fingers to elongate the length of yarn for weaving. Kerang cloth is woven on the back-strap loom by two women by digging a small pit on the ground and erecting four poles in four corners to stretch the warp for weaving.

Pankaja Sethi

Pankaja Sethi is a textile designer and research scholar based in Bhubaneswar. She has received three Small Study Research Grants from Nehru Trust for the Indian Collections at the Victoria & Albert Museum (NTICVA) to do research on the Kotpad textiles and natural dyeing of al in 2009-10, the quilting tradition of Ganjam (2015-16) and the bark cloth of Mahima Dharma in Odisha (2017-18). She did one year extensive research work on Dongria Kondh Adivasi Textiles and Wall Paintings supported by National Folklore Support Centre-Tata Fellowship in 2012-13.

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